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Texas Basketball Recruiting Notes: Shaka Edition

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winslow
winslow

what a bytch......keep playing with me i will have kj block you on all social media & have ur fucc boi azz removed from any sporting event he is featured in.........

hornfromdallas
hornfromdallas

@shadow_operative remember when you tried to say @hornfromdallas was wrong about collins texas basketball insider  once again @hornfromdallas had the real info fuccboi 

winslow
winslow

stahp it bruh   

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  • 2 weeks later...
Machinator

Machinator 32103

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IT

While the actual playing of meaningful football games takes center stage as September arrives, those early fall semester dates are also of great importance to basketball programs. Texas, this weekend and next in particular, are no different.

Over the past weekend, Texas welcomed three visitors as the football team hosted Louisiana Tech.

Osasere Ighodaro, a 6'9 forward out of Arizona, took his official which has been in the works since Luke Yaklich joined the Texas staff from Michigan earlier this summer. Yaklich was Ighodaro's main recruiter for the Wolverines and convinced Shaka to take a look at the skilled big man over the July period.

Weekend Takeaway: *shrugs emoji* Ighodaro fits the mold of a Shaka guy in that he's long and agile, skilled and intelligent. But do we covet him? Tough to say. And does he covet us? Even tougher to say. He and his family play things pretty close to the vest. I'd put this at less than 40% but he had a good weekend.

Point guard Rondel Walker out of Oklahoma City also made a (brief) visit this weekend over the holiday. I don't expect an offer to be extended to Walker unless the wheels really fall off on the class and, even then, that wouldn't likely be until the winter months.

Also out of Oklahoma (after Texas making his top seven list recently) was 5-star guard Bryce Thompson out of Tulsa. The stud scorer from north of the Red River has his pick of suitors from across the country and Texas has done an admirable job of placing/keeping their foot in the door for a player of his caliber, but I don't think Thompson's interest is super serious at this point. His relationship with Cade Cunningham (for whom Texas did not make the list) is well documented and a common perception is that Thompson will be interestedly waiting to see if Cunningham signs with his brother's Oklahoma State program this fall. If that happens, Thompson following suit may well be a formality. If not, perhaps Texas can make a real play. Not holding my breath.

Normally, hosting a Shaka Smart special and a 5-star in one weekend would make it a big-time event. However, it's the upcoming weekend that really will move the needle for Texas Basketball.

As the football team prepares to host LSU in a huge non-conference game this weekend, the hoops staff will welcome fellow five-star players Greg Brown and DJ Steward to Austin.

Vandegrift forward Brown is another in the line of must-get recruits Shaka has chased over his time in Austin. Whether it was Jarrett Allen, Mo Bamba, Will Baker, Matt Coleman or whomever, Greg Brown fits the mold of a program changing type of talent. Brown has been on the Texas campus countless times (playing pick-up games, going to games, hanging out with the players) and knows fully well what Shaka and the program are about. The issue, as it rightly should be, is whether the program is in the hands of a coach who can make Brown's likely one year in college maximized. Even as a local kid, Brown heading to Austin would represent a significant decision when it's in contrast to a school like Kentucky or UNC. Texas will probably have until the spring to show Greg it can be that place where he can spend a year in college, shine and head to the pros, but a great visit this week could go a long ways towards cementing how comfortable he is on the 40 Acres as we inch towards his ultimate decision date.

DJ Steward, the Chicago combo guard who saw his stock rise a ton this summer, has comparably seen his offer sheet go from impressive to borderline elite. Texas now will have to fend off Duke, UNC and Louisville (among others) for Steward's services and will have their work cut out for them in doing so. The good news is that Shaka's relationship with the recruit is super solid and Texas has been in on him as long as just about anybody, so the chances are there.

The Endgame

Five visitors in two weekends (especially given the high rankings of many of them) is a ton.

Still, I don't think Texas fans should expect commits to start falling to UT anytime soon because: A) the guys who are likely in a position to pull the trigger aren't the guys Texas most covets at this point; and B) it's too soon for players to totally buy-in to the idea that Shaka and Texas have turned the corner.

Patience is the way and, look, either we have a solid/very good year and we land some high-level players, or we don't and Shaka's likely out of here.

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Katfid54

Katfid54 9005

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1 minute ago, texifornia said:

Nowhere else to really put this - if this kid goes anywhere other than Tulane it's a damn crime

 

Every birthday, he gets to eat a Po'Boigh King Cake, which is a thing I never even considered existing until now but desperately need in my life.

Fat Kid confirmed.

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Machinator

Machinator 32103

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DAIMION COLLINS

Over on the hardwood, UT is looking to build its Class of 2021. That includes the pursuit of small forward Daimion Collins.

A year ago today, not many people knew about the 6-foot-7 product out of Atlanta, TX. Thanks to a solid junior year and incredible AAU summer run, his offer list exploded.

He currently holds offers from Arkansas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, and USC.

Last week, Texas coach Jai Lucas, along with over a dozen others, made the trip to the ETX region to see Collins.

“I've had a lot come by lately, including three coaches with Oklahoma,” said Collins. “I just stay as humble as possible through it all. They're all pretty equal.”

Texas sees the swing forward with good range as a must-get for 2021.

“(Lucas) was telling me great job on working hard, and that he didn’t know I could dribble and shoot the way I can,” said Collins. He's hoping to visit Texas soon.

His game is made up of dribble-drive, points in the paint, and ever-developing post game. Add decent handles and mid range jumper and he’s probably one of the hottest kids in the country.

His mother, Kim, is determined to help in all facets.

“We are handling it well right now,” Mrs. Collins said. “It's been a experience for us all. Taking it one day at a time.”

Right now, even though Collins appears to be open, I believe the idea he stays closer to home will be a major factor.

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Catdaddyhorn

Catdaddyhorn 3464

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We already missed out on our main guard targets  (Cade Cunningham and DJ Steward).  And Greg Brown our main overall target probably won't announce until November at the earliest. The other guys we're going after are 2ndary choices and thus we didn't get on them seriously until late in the process.  

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Catdaddyhorn

Catdaddyhorn 3464

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1 hour ago, Cashcar said:

Shaka, barring a miraculous turnaround, is a dead man walking. I’m not expecting much on the recruiting front this year. 

While I don't think Shaka would ever have us at an elite level or be a real threat to do something remarkable, I don't think we need a miraculous turnaround to get back to being a tournament team. The addition of Yaklich will improve us tremendously not only on the defensive front, but particularly on the boards. Which is, in my opinion, the number one source for Shaka's woeful record in close games over his 4 years at UT. We've been an utterly atrocious team on the boards. All that being said, Shaka is a mediocre coach who probably wont consistently threaten to do anything truly great in the tourney. The 2 assistant coach additions we've had over the past 2 seasons, which are admittedly good pick ups, will just help lift us to the mediocrity we had during Barnes last few years. 

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Laga4

Laga4 1270

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56 minutes ago, Ghost of Shag said:

It’s pathetic how little I pay attention to our basketball team now.

I feel the same way.  

I'm not sure Shaka is even a mediocre coach.

 I don't really keep up with basketball recruiting but I don't think we have had bad talent over his tenure have we?

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Catdaddyhorn

Catdaddyhorn 3464

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We shot about 35% from 3 last year and ranked 150 in the nation in 3pt% which is about smack dab in the middle of the pack. Despite claims to the contrary shooting wasn't our biggest issue last season.  Now we may launch way too many 3s for such an average %, but the real issue last season was defense and rebounding. And rebounding has been a problem from day 1 of the Shaka tenure. A lot of people talk about recruiting shooters, but data shows shooting is developed not necessarily recruited. Outside of the truly elite guys like Steph Curry and Trae Young most elite college shooters don't begin their careers as great shooters. They start to transition from streaky to good to eventually great in their junior and senior years. There was a great research project on Barking Carnival about 2 or 3 years ago detailing this fact. Even truly elite shooters like Svi Mykhailiuk and Buddy Hield were mediocre to streaky shooters during their freshman and sophomore years. 

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Catdaddyhorn

Catdaddyhorn 3464

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22 minutes ago, Cashcar said:

Ranking 150th in 3 pt shooting is not good. I’d love to think our guys develop into better shooters, but I am not sure that is realistic. We will play Matt Coleman 35 mins per game, and he is an atrocious shooter. Ramey is more of a slasher, and has a very flat shot. Our only hopes are 1) Febres takes a big leap and develops consistency, 2) AJ1 is fully recovered, and 3) one of Hepa or Baker emerge as deep threat in the high post.

I agree rebounding is a problem. Some of that is perhaps not coaching rebounding fundamentals and some is related to Shaka’s emphasis on shot-blocking. Hopefully Yacklich’s emphasis on positional D helps the latter.

 

 

Ramey shot 39% from 3 last year (which I actually think is an anomaly because he wasn't noted as a great shooter coming in, but it is what it is)

Coleman went from 29% as a freshman and improved to 33% as a sophomore

Febrese went from 30% as a freshman to 37% as a sophomore

Jones shot 33% as a freshman and improved to 46% his sophomore year in his limited time before the leukemia diagnosis. 

Losing Osetkowski will be a net positive wrt to 3pt shooting. 

I assume Hepa will improve on his 31% and we'll see if Liddell's 3pt improvement (29%) follows the same trajectory of everyone else on the team. 

I'm hopeful that Baker can at least match Osetkowski's and Hepa's 31% from 3 on fewer attempts. 

Statistically speaking, anything above 36% is considered pretty good from 3pt range. 38% and beyond is considered ellite for the college level.

Edited by Catdaddyhorn
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cafe society

cafe society 2903

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What are the odds that Yaklich was brought in not only to help with defense and rebounding, but as a potential successor to Shaka?  He gets a year of familiarity with the school, city and Texas high school players and coaches (I know that NCAA hoops recruiting is a national process), thus offering a quick and smooth transition in the what seems likely event that Shaka is fired.  Just asking those of you who follow this more closely. 

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Blotto

Blotto 24011

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2 hours ago, cafe society said:

What are the odds that Yaklich was brought in not only to help with defense and rebounding, but as a potential successor to Shaka?  He gets a year of familiarity with the school, city and Texas high school players and coaches (I know that NCAA hoops recruiting is a national process), thus offering a quick and smooth transition in the what seems likely event that Shaka is fired.  Just asking those of you who follow this more closely. 

Dude has 6 years experience as an assistant coach at the college level, and 14 years coaching high school ball. I can't see Texas handing over the reins to somebody with that background. We can't afford to fuck up the next hire as bad as we did Shaka, so I dont see the athletic department rolling the dice on a guy with ridiculously little experience of any kind at a major university.

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txhorns

txhorns 2421

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3 hours ago, cafe society said:

What are the odds that Yaklich was brought in not only to help with defense and rebounding, but as a potential successor to Shaka?  He gets a year of familiarity with the school, city and Texas high school players and coaches (I know that NCAA hoops recruiting is a national process), thus offering a quick and smooth transition in the what seems likely event that Shaka is fired.  Just asking those of you who follow this more closely. 

That would be an absolutely stupid thing to do.

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Catdaddyhorn

Catdaddyhorn 3464

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3 hours ago, cafe society said:

What are the odds that Yaklich was brought in not only to help with defense and rebounding, but as a potential successor to Shaka?  He gets a year of familiarity with the school, city and Texas high school players and coaches (I know that NCAA hoops recruiting is a national process), thus offering a quick and smooth transition in the what seems likely event that Shaka is fired.  Just asking those of you who follow this more closely. 

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IDIOTsavant

IDIOTsavant 8686

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As a Wolverine, I think a lot people here seriously underestimate Yaklich. Beilein is a heck of an offensive coach, but the last two teams have been built on Yaklich's defense. It's my understanding that Howard wanted to retain him. I'm extremely excited to see what he can do for the Horns.

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Goodman

Goodman 3280

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1 hour ago, IDIOTsavant said:

As a Wolverine, I think a lot people here seriously underestimate Yaklich. Beilein is a heck of an offensive coach, but the last two teams have been built on Yaklich's defense. It's my understanding that Howard wanted to retain him. I'm extremely excited to see what he can do for the Horns.

I'd be a lot more excited if Shaka showed to be a leader.

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